Coming soon: Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2006
****** UPDATE: The Wine Spectator has now published their 2006 Top 100 Wines list. See my follow-on post.
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Each year, the editors at Wine Spectator magazine survey the wines they’ve reviewed over the past year and select what they feel are the “most exciting” for their list of the Top 100 wines of the year.
From the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 page:
In 2006, we reviewed nearly 13,500 wines from around the world in blind tastings. Nearly 3,000 of them earned outstanding ratings (90 points or higher on our 100-point scale). We then narrowed the list down based on four criteria: quality (represented by score); value (reflected by release price); availability (measured by case production or cases imported); and an X-factor we call excitement. But no equation determines the final selections: These choices reflect our editors’ judgment and enthusiasm about the wines we tasted.
WS’ Top 100 list, which was first published back in 1988, represents the wine wares of 13 different countries, claiming this to be “the most diverse group in the history of the Top 100.” Gee, only 13 countries making quality wine? What’s wrong with this wine glass?
The Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2006 will be available to the public on November 20th, 2006 (now available — see my follow-up post).
In the meantime, I’ve begun a list of the Top 100 countries from which I’ve gained readers — I’m sure there’s much more diversity there.
